The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-02-14

leave it undone, is to be out Of harmony with |
the law. /
There is another way in which this law Of
God is fearfully broken, to which
l must barely allude. / refer to the
crime of infanticide. If the statistics Of this
crimes were gathered up and laid before rs am
sure would all stand aghast in their pres
ence. do not refer to infanticide as it prevails
in China and in the heather lands, but refer to
infanticide az it prevails in Christendom and IN
our own land. What we see IN the newspapers
from time to time, how here and there In some
out-of the way place, tiny babe has been picked
up dead-dead from exposure, or dead from
strangulation-these too frequent reports ex-
cite our pity. But the cases that come thus to
our notice constitute but very small per
cent. of the awful crimes against child
hood and against motherhood that are hidden
from public view. Alas! that in this land OF
gospel light any mother should be found who is
lost to natural affection as to fling it aside or
bury it in order to hide her sin and her shame!
land of gospel light, wifehood should too often
despise motherhood, and this, too, while Gods
voice is ringing in their ears saying, Thou shalt
not KILL
How often, too, has this commandment been
broken, as it were, by proxy2 But is the con-
spirator who stands in the background any the
less murderer Many man who urged others
to do the bloody deed has tried to ease his con-
science and to hide his guilt by exclaiming with
Macbeth:
"'Thou canst not say did it, never shake
Thy CORY locks at me-
'sBut Macbeth could not flee from himself.
Banquo was his bane. He found out that blood
will have blood
but lie. us bear in mind what was said at
the outset. that this commandment has to do
with other conduct than the infection OF phys1-
cal injury It has to do with thoughts, with
motives, with intentions. It goes down to the
very roots Of things, and as interpreted by
Jesus Christ, it Gays: Thou shalt not be angry
with thy brother. 1t says as seen by St John:
Thou shalt not hate thy brother So
then. the law is spiritual, and that fact
brings this commandment home to US ALL
For, says Paul, writing to Titus. we ourselves,
also, were sometime foolish, dsobedient de-
ceived serving divers lusts and pleasures, living
in malice and envy, hateful and hating one
another And is there not moro than little
danger that this language of the apostle is appli-
who. while they would shrink with horror from
the thought of being murderers. yet living
in malice and envy, hateful and hating one an
other2 Let us hear what St John says of such:
Let us hear what Jesus says of
such: L say unto you that everyone
that is angry with his brother shall
be in danger of the Judgment Anger or hatred
against fellow man; these the commandment
forbids. Not, mark you, righteous anger. for
that is allowed. Be We angry and sin not Net
righteous indignation against vice. not holy
hatred of sin, for these, too, are allowable and
malicious, anger and hatred that are
directed against the hated person to his hurt,
this has in it the essence of murder and hence
it is to be condemned.
most practical For the wish to do evil, the
wish that evil might be done to another
who, it may be. has injured US, or whom, at
all events we may dislike is an experience that
is far too common. The heart is decetful above
all things, and desperately wicked; who
know it2 If to have a malicious wish towards a
brother a neighbor is in Gods sight to be red
all over with that brothers or with that neigh
boris blood, then it behooves US to look into our
hearts and see how we stand in this respect 1T
is far easier and far more natural to see the evil
| and to think the worst about those we do
| not love than it is to tho good that is in
| them, and to think the best about them.
"a moral assassin is almost despica-
BILE. nay, he is quite as much to be
| despised. the who deals
out to another murderous blow And to be
| breaking this holy law And are there not in
| the world, and in our land. those who may be
! fifty characterized as moral assassinst They
| tamper with the good name of their nsighbors.
| They do it as rivals in business. They do it as
| rivals in politics They do it in the learned pro
| LESSONS. Yes, they do il even in Gods church,
and from His holy table they will go to utter
their vile ISLANDERS, and to insert their poisonous
/ fangs: and thus they try to rob their fellows OF
that which, to any noble soul, is more precious
| than life itself.
.'Good name in woman dear my lord,
| Is the immediate jewel of their souls
/ Who steals my purse steals trash, tbs something
Twas mine it's his and has been slave to thousands
But he that hlches from me my good name
And makes me poor indeed.
I'VE all declare him guilty of fearful crime
| who, with murderous hand. sends fellow
| mortal unprepared into eterIlty-
| "sWith all his sins broad blown,
ITpho al into lad
sBut do we estimate as we should tn
enormity of the guilt OF man who is allied
to the devil that he positively hates his brother
Whosover hateth his brother is murderer. aut
ye know that no murderer hath eternal If
abidingi in him. Thou shalt not kill. If W
would keep this commandment perfectly an,
enter into life, we must love our fellow-men-
yes, we must love even our enemies, and no
hate them. By love alone we fulfill thi
law And in order to exercise that love W
must have the grace that is in Jesus Christ
And to obtain this grace we must look unit
Jesus, confessing our sins and beg His forgive
ness, and pray that we may be made more an
more like unto himself in thought. i
word and in deed To love like Christ
to live like Christ. And if we liv
any human being, and, this being so, we ca
never ne guilty of infictine an injury upon an
human being; and so, exercising towards all me
. benevolent and Chrst-like spirit, we may tax
comfort from the thought that as our Savle
kept this law absolutely to perfection go we to
may keep it both as to its letter and its spirit
such a way as to please Him and as to secu,
from Him the plaudit, Well done!'
AT OTHER CHURCHES.
: A Distinguished Presbyterian Missionary
al Sermon on Life and Hereafter.
t There was very large congregation at tt
| 81